Monday, March 11, 2013

Review: Sleep Patterns - Sleep Patterns EP

Another
release from 13th Floor Records, Sleep Pattern’s self-titled EP is a
perfect follow-through for the label’s intent to give the best rising bands
their due. Sleep Patterns hails from the always-shifting, always-shaping state
of Florida, and they have a brilliant new sound that includes pieces of
Converge, Coalesce, and American Nightmare, but remaining a unique and
explosive debut.

I never
sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of death:

“Green Glass
Door” – This opener bursts forth from the bowels of Hell, the dissonant guitars
scratching and scraping the crashing cymbals, and the Coalesce-style vocals bleeding
out over the structure. The perfect way to begin an album, for any album, ever.

“Avon Park”
– “If you saw what we saw, you’d cover your eyes and walk away,” The vocals
proclaim, clawing away at the grave they’ve been trapped in. This song riffs
harder than your favorite Coalesce song, and kicks as much ass as any track on You Fail Me. I can’t shake this one
off, and you won't either.

“631 TUF” –
Sleep Patterns adds a new facet to their sound with this song, which is much
more reminiscent of their Give Up The Ghost influence, along with the crushing melody
of their South Florida forefathers Shai Hulud and Strongarm. At 3:01, this is
the longest track on the album, and definitely one of the most moving,
cathartic tracks on the album. “You’ve lost your touch.”

“Catfish” –
This song, one of my favorites, could have been recorded in the same session as
Converge’s infamous Jane Doe – which,
for the record, is one of the
greatest hardcore albums of all time (for all you fakers out there). Taking leads from darker hardcore,
metallic hardcore, and even mathcore, this song is cryptically kick-ass, and
leaves you catatonic after its 1:44 of dynamite riffs and gunshot snare hits.

“Slapshot
Regatta” – “There is a man who wants to die.” With riffs like these, riffs like Coalesce's Give Them Rope, lyrics are completely unnecessary, but they're definitely a nice touch--especially when done right. Vocalist Jon Fraser scrapes the inside of his lungs for this take, making sure that all the hatred and spite left in his guts is spewed out, left to destroy the track, which dies out with perfect feedback.

Melding the
intensity and darkness of bands like Converge and The Banner, and the technique
of Coalesce, this is your new favorite album. There's groove, there's hatred, there's angst, and there's enough riffing on this album to snap your neck in two. Just let it happen.